Online video is now an established communication tool, being used for social purposes and for commercial marketing and other purposes. Indeed, the success of online video is such that content-enabled video services are being developed, allowing functionality to be co-delivered with the video such as clickable hyperlinks within the video frame, such as external links that lead the viewer to a specific website or other internet address, or popouts to display text or images, or play video or audio alongside or instead of the video previously being played.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,620,914 discloses the incorporation of clickable hyperlinks into a viewable video, sending the hyperlink data in a separate stream alongside the video data. The two are then re-united in the video player and the hyperlinks are displayed over the video data, allowing a user to click the hyperlink as and when desired.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,817,822 discloses a motion tracking system for such hyperlinks. This allows a user to associate the hyperlink with a specific feature in a frame of the video, following which the motion tracking system detects movement of that feature in subsequent frames and adjusts the position of the hyperlink accordingly. As a result, the hyperlink appears to “float” over the feature and follow it as it moves in the video. The hyperlink can therefore be associated with the feature, such as a link offering more information on or an opportunity to purchase the item forming that feature. Multiple hyperlinks can then be safely added to a video or video segment, with the meaning of each hyperlink remaining clear to a viewer at all times.
We refer to such hyperlinks, together with any other items that may be inserted into the video to allow the user to interact with or gain further information from the video, as “tags”.